


When "now" turns to "then"...

by LifeInWentworth



Category: Wentworth (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-10-01
Packaged: 2017-12-22 02:15:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LifeInWentworth/pseuds/LifeInWentworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Erica doesn't know the full history of Franky's relationship with her mother so she's surprised when Franky almost has a panic attack in her office after she's told her about a women, saying she's her mother, wants to see her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Erica tapped her pen on the desk anxiously. Of course, the bright side to this situation was that she got to see Franky, but how bright was it when she couldn’t even let herself feel happy about it? The dark side was what was making Erica anxious; the reason for calling Franky for her office. Franky was unpredictable and something like a time bomb – you just never knew when she’d be perfectly agreeable and when she’d go off and send your word spinning. She looked up as Franky entered the room.  
Franky looked at Erica, and like she so often did, ran her tongue over her bottom lip.  
“Governor, what can I do for you on this bright day?” she slouched down in the chair, putting her feet on the governor’s desk, not a worry in the world. That only worried Erica more.  
“We’ve had several letters and requests for a visitor for you,” Erica said seriously. She hoped her tone would tell Franky that this wasn’t their usual flirty, light hearted tutoring session.  
“If it’s my dad, I told him what I thought of him. Just leave it, he’ll get the picture,” Franky did take her feet off the desk, leaning forwards.  
Erica maintained eye contact with her as she said, “Franky, it’s not your dad,” she paused long enough to see Franky frown, she hesitated, “it’s your mother.”  
Franky was uncharacteristically silent.  
“Franky? Did you hear me?”  
Franky nodded stiffly, her jaw clenched as well as her fists. She stood up and started pacing the room.  
“Look, I don’t know your history with your parents, you know that but she’s been pretty persistent. She’s outside – “  
Franky looked at Erica, “She’s here? Now?”  
It took Erica a moment to recognise the emotion on Franky’s face; it was fear. She nodded, “She’s outside, yeah, but Franky you don’t have to…”  
Franky had her head resting on her arms, pressed up against the wall. She could hardly hear Erica’s voice, hardly realise that Erica was even there. Her mother, after all these fucking years. One shaking hand automatically found it’s way to her side, before she clenched it and placed it back on the wall. Her chest felt tight but she could hardly breathe properly when she was clenching her jaw so tight.  
“Franky…Franky,” Erica put a hand on Franky’s shoulder but Franky swiped it away and took a step backwards, wiping her eyes. Erica stopped in her tracks; she’d never seen Franky like this, “What do you want me to do?” she said softly.  
Franky couldn’t even meet the governor’s eye. She tried to swallow down the lump in her throat but it wouldn’t go away. She just kept going over every fucking night she had tried to wait for her dad, and every fucking night that her mum had told her it was her fault, and the bottles and the pills and the smell of her own burning flesh and the pain. The pain that somehow she had got used to, the sound of smashing glass that she’d become accustomed to and the stumbling of her mother up the hall after another night out, leaving a ten year old Franky to care for herself. Franky snapped herself back to the present by slamming a fist into the wall of the governor’s office.  
“Franky,” Erica made to approach her again, but thought better of it, “it’s okay. Just, calm down. You need to breathe.”  
Franky just nodded, but made no move to unclench her jaw. It was beginning to hurt but she didn’t care. She remembered every time that she’d got close to someone, and they’d lifted her top, the questions about the scars down her side, a constant reminder. She remembered making the decision to transform it into a tattoo, and how that had fought off the memories for a while. Until now. Her mother, at Wentworth, just a few hundred metres away.  
“I can’t…” she choked out, forcing herself to look at Erica, and then wishing she hadn’t. She could see the concern in Erica’s eyes. She looked at the dented wall in front of her, she cleared her throat, “I’m sorry,” she gestured towards the wall, “I’ll pay for it. Or something. I’ll – “  
“Franky, don’t be stupid, it’s a wall, it’s fine. I’m more about you.” Erica took a step forward tentatively, and when Franky didn’t push her away, she took another, “Are you okay? You don’t have to make this decision right now. It’s clearly a big decision for you and I – “  
“She burnt me with cigarettes. Like every night,” Franky stated bluntly, “and she told me…it was my fault that he left. That he didn’t want me. Why would he? But…she was drunk, all the time and off her face. I looked after her, and after myself until they finally put me in fucking foster care. I was just a kid and I loved my dad, and I,” she had tears welling in her eyes now, “I didn’t make him leave,” she finished in a whisper.  
Erica could feel tears pooling in her own eyes, “No, you didn’t,” she wanted nothing more than to take Franky in her arms and comfort her but, fucking boundaries and rules and -  
“I’ve never said that before,” she looked Erica in the eye and let a couple of tears course down her cheek. She took a step towards the governor, and put her head on her shoulder, and that moment Erica wrapped her arms about her, was nothing to do with sex. It was just about caring. Franky let the tears flow, soaking Erica’s blouse. She hadn’t cried like that in front of anyone in years, but for some reason she still couldn’t identify, the governor made the ten year old inside her feel safe, in a way that neither of her parents ever could.


	2. The Meeting

Eventually, Franky pulled herself out of the governor’s hold, wiping her eyes. She took a deep breath and regained her composure.  
“I’ll see her,” she said, nodding.  
Erica couldn’t hide the concern on her face, “Are you sure, Franky?”  
The prisoner nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure. Maybe it will help…to tell her what a bitch she was,” Franky tried to smile but failed, nerves painted all over her face.  
“Okay, Franky, but you know it will be a box visit – “  
Franky chuckled, “I know, it can’t be helped the dangerous criminal I am,” she said sarcastically.  
“You know I’m doing it for you, not her,” Erica said evenly.  
Franky looked at her, “She won’t hurt me, not in the open,” she said, confused.  
“That’s not what I meant. Franky,” Erica sighed, “I don’t give a shit about her, but if you hurt her you’ll get more time. That, I care about.”  
The prisoner didn’t make any of her usual sexual innuendo remarks, simply nodded.

Franky could feel herself shaking and cursed herself for it; she was not going to appear weak in front of her mum. She tried to even her breathing, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. A hand on her shoulder snapped her back to it, and she slapped it away.  
“Franky, sorry. I’m sorry, I should have said something, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the governor held both hands up, keeping her distance.  
Franky nodded, “Sorry, I’m just a little tense.”  
“I understand. Your mothers here now, ready to see you. Franky, you know you can leave at any time, you don’t even have to go through with this if you don’t want to – “  
“No, I do, Erica. But thanks,” Franky didn’t thank anyone very often, but the eye contact with the governor made her believe it.

Franky pushed the door open and paused momentarily at the sight of the woman on the other side of the glass. She looked older, but had the same messy, unkempt hair. Her face looked clearer, but her eyes still had the same bags under them. Franky swallowed hard and took a seat opposite her mother.  
“Oh, Francesca,” her mother said endearingly.  
Franky sniffed, “What do you want?”  
“I know you’re angry. That’s why you’re here – “  
Franky laughed, “Why I’m here? I’m here because you were a shit mother.”  
“You can’t blame your crimes on me, I tried to raise you right – “  
“Are you fucking serious? Do you know what the kids at school did with their mothers? Their mum’s would read to them, cook for them and come to school for parents day. What did you do – “  
“Franky – “  
“Don’t call me that. Don’t pretend like you know who I am. You don’t know a fucking thing, you never did. I was just your punching bag for your fucked up life. I still have scars, you know, from every fucking cigarette burn. Every time anyone lifts my top, I have to make up some fucking story to cover up. For you.”  
“It’s been such a long time, you’re my daughter – “  
“Your daughter?” Franky raised her eyebrows, “Nah, I don’t reckon I’ve been your daughter for a long time…mum,” she spat the word like it was dirt on her tongue, “you and fucking dad think you can just turn up because you’ve got me cornered in this stupid place and start making amends… Some things don’t deserve forgiveness.”  
“Your dad’s been to see you?” she looked confused.  
Franky stood up, “Yeah, maybe that’s why they put this fucking glass,” she slammed the glass with an open hand, “maybe I killed him.”  
“No, you’re not a killer, Francesca. I know that,” her mother said, eyes wide.  
Franky laughed bitterly, “No, I’m not. They were smart enough to put the glass up for him too otherwise I’d be in for two murders.”  
“You’re a good person – “  
Franky slammed her hand into the glass again, “Don’t tell me what I am. I don’t need to hear that from you, I don’t _want_ to hear it from you, don’t you get that?” she continued slowly, emphasising every word with her fist meeting the window, “You are nothing to me. _Nothing_.”  
“I will always be your mother, you can’t escape that,” Franky’s mother was talking desperately now, not realising she was only making the situation worse.  
Franky turned to the wall for a moment, clearing her eyes of any tears that threatened to spill out. She turned back to face her mother, looking at the pathetic woman in front of her.  
“Look at you, you’re obviously still on the fucking gear, you haven’t changed at all.”  
Her mother stood up now, “Oh shut up, you selfish brat. Do you have any idea how hard it is to raise a child on your own? You were no fucking angel, you know.”  
“I was fucking nine years old. There are plenty of fucking single parent families out there.”  
“Yeah, well maybe their kids weren’t a fucking pain in the ass. You were always asking for your stupid dad, he left us Francesca and you just whined and whined about missing your perfect fucking daddy, what was I meant to do? You were pathetic. You are pathetic. Look where you are now, going fucking nowhere. God knows why I bothered to come, maybe to show myself I did the right thing is disowning you, you little bitch,” her mothers’ cruel streak never failed to shine through.  
Franky looked deceivingly calm throughout her mother’s speech. But once she’d finished she was at the glass trying to break it with her fists, even trying to kick it down as the officer’s escorted her mother away and began to pull Franky herself away from the glass, still struggling. And then there was Erica, trying to talk sense into her that she could barely hear.  
“Franky, calm down, please. She’s gone, okay? You don’t have to see her again,” Erica had her hand on Franky’s bicep as the officer’s remained holding her. Franky began to breathe and calm herself down.  
“I want to – “  
“Franky,” Erica interrupted sternly, knowing what the prisoner was going to say. She could ignore it if she was on her own but if the other officer’s heard her threaten injury or death on a visitor, she would be slotted no questions.  
Franky got it and shut up, she had stopped struggling and Erica waved the officer’s off, who with slight reluctance, left them to it.  
“Franky, are you alright?”  
Franky nodded, “Yeah. She hasn’t changed. At least my dad pretended like he’d changed, she was just…the same. A total cow. If there hadn’t been glass there, I bet she would have lit up and burnt me right there in the visitors room.”  
Erica’s shoulders dropped in pity and she pulled the prisoner into an embrace, “You’re safe now,” she whispered, knowing she was crossing boundaries but she had a new appreciation for the shit that landed these women, and not just Franky, in prison. Her parents may have been strict and demanding but at least they had never abused her or abandoned her.  
“You make me feel safe,” Franky whispered into Erica’s shoulder, the admission taking both governor and prisoner by surprise.


End file.
